Slushie Love
by GinnyShu
Summary: Tina gets a slushie from someone she never expected.
1. Chapter 1

AN: I do not own "Glee" or any of the characters. If I did, Will, Finn and Puck would be feeding me chocolate covered strawberries and rubbing my feet as we speak.

Noah Puckerman stared at the oversized orange cup in his hands as he walked up to the high school. Cherry Coke. He took a small sip and gagged at the sickeningly sweet taste of it. He hated the flavor but it was a necessity to come to school with that slushie today. He had a plan that he didn't really think that it would work, but it was worth a shot. He walked through the doors, passing a couple of freshmen that winced at the sight of him with a cold beverage in his hands. He ignored them and went to his locker to shove his backpack in and grab his Spanish book before setting off on his slushie mission.

He had no idea where her locker was or where she hung out before class so he wandered in the direction of the music room, all the while keeping an eye out for her. At a locker near Mr. Schuester's room he found her. She was leaning close to a small mirror in her locker and applying more of her dark eyeliner. He stepped close to her so she could see him over her shoulder in the reflection.

"P-P-Puck?" Tina stuttered. She spun around, staring at the slushie in his hands. She instinctively covered her face with her hands and braced herself for what she assumed was the inevitable. But then he did the strangest thing.

He held it out to her.

"It was a two-for-one day at Sleven this morning. You want it?"

Tina eyed it warily. "W-W-What's wrong w-w-with it?"

"Nothing. I just heard Mike say you like Cherry Coke slushies once and thought you might want it." He held it out further, encouraging her to take it.

She nervously took it, her fingers brushing his for moment, but did not drink it. "Th-thanks, P-P-P-Puck."

He gave her a smile, a closed one but it was genuine, and went in to Spanish class. "See you at Glee, Tina."

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Tina made sure Puck was gone and that no one was around her before she tentatively brought the straw to her lips and tried the slushie. If it was poisoned she would rather someone just find her dead body on the floor than her slowly choking to death while they laughed at her. Cherry Coke. Just like he had said. And she was still alive.

Tina was confused to say the least. No. That wasn't the word. She was stunned. Shocked. Flabbergasted. Gobsmacked.

She had just been given a slushie, her favorite slushie, by the person that had thrown more in her face than anyone else.

'I've got to talk to Mike,' she thought to her self as she shoved several spiral notebook into her messenger bag and shut her locker with her hip.

Mike Chang was her cousin but very few people knew it. Everyone just assumed that they had the same last name (well, half of hers) because it was like Smith or Jones in China and that weren't related at all. How could they be? Mike was funny and athletic and popular and Tina was a weird, stuttering Gleek. In fact, their fathers were brothers and they had lived next door to each other. When they were young they were best friends until Mike started playing sports and Tina became friends with Artie, Kurt, Rachel and Mercedes. Still, they each had a soft spot for one another and Mike was her constant protector from his friends.

She went to her first two classes but didn't see Mike anywhere until he came into her third period study hall to ask Coach Tanaka a question. As he was about to leave the room when she waved him over to her table near the back of the room where she sat alone, doodling.

"What up, T?" he said coolly as he slid into the seat across from her. She couldn't help but roll her eyes. He tried so hard to be cool. Part of her wanted to tell everyone in Glee that he was such a good dancer because his mom made him take ballet and modern dance with her when they were in elementary school. He hadn't learned any of it "on the street" like he had claimed to impress Brittany.

"Puck gave me a slushie this morning." She never stuttered around him because he never made her nervous.

"What?! He slushied you? Damnit!" Mike stood up to track Puck down but Tina grabbed his arm and pulled him back into his seat.

"No, Mike. He _gave_ me a slushie. Cherry Coke." She stared at him for a moment, waiting for him to say something. "Puck said that you had told him that it was my favorite."

"I-I-I don't remember telling him, per se, I might have mentioned it at some point a while ago when we were on a munchie run for Funions and that was the only slushie machine that was working." Mike was turning redder and redder.

"It's okay. I'm just trying to figure out what is going on with him. I was fully prepared for a slushie shower and instead I get a slushie as a gift."

"Maybe he's just trying to be nice. We are all on the same team now."

"Maybe..."

"I still want to talk to him."

"You do and I will post that picture of you as the Nutcracker Prince on facebook," she threatened and Mike did not doubt her for a moment. "Let me handle this." The bell rang and Tina was out the door before Mike could protest but he knew that she'd be able to handle herself in this situation. Tina was a stronger person than she let everyone think she was.

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Puck got to Glee rehearsal before anyone, even before that insanely talented nutjob, Rachel. He still had a half hour before rehearsal officially started so he got one of the acoustic guitars out and started strumming the familiar chords of "Sweet Caroline" and singing along with his own music.

He didn't hear the door open or notice that anyone else was there until he heard a familiar alto voice join him in the second chorus. Tina sat on the floor in front of him, her hood up, hair hiding her face but her voice clear and lovely and matching his better than either had expected.

"That w-w-w-was b-b-beautiful, Puck."

"Thanks. I've been working on it for a while. I want to play it for Mr. Schue today. See if he has any suggestions." He set the guitar in the open case and sat on the floor facing Tina.

"Even if h-he d-d-does, I r-r-r-r-really like it the way it is." She lowered her hood and unzipped her sweatshirt but left it on. Her hair still hid most of her face. She seemed to refuse to meet his searching eyes.

"Why are you here so early?" Puck asked, trying to make conversation.

"I-I-I-I-I-I was going to practice "T-Tonight." I know it's R-Rachel's n-n-now but I love it and w-w-want to ch-challenge her this week." She finally brushed her blue streaked hair out of her face and looked up at Puck. He had to remind himself to breathe when their eyes locked. "I c-c-can't get through it w-without st-stuttering anymore. She's g-got me so nervous."

"But you never stutter when you sing," Puck pointed out as he leaned closer to her.

"I-I know." Tina looked down at her hands and took a deep breath. "Puck, w-w-w-why d-d-did you give me that slushie this morning?"

He sat in silence for a moment. "I want to make things up to you. I wasn't very nice to you or the others and I'm trying to make some changes."

"Oh." They sat in uncomfortable silence for a minute.

Puck had an idea. He grabbed the guitar out of the case and tapped her knee to get her attention. "Do you want to sing with me for everybody today? I think we have time to work you in a little earlier. And maybe it'll help you with "Tonight.""

"I-I-I'd like that."

And Puck started playing again.

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Glee rehearsal lasted longer than anyone had expected. It seemed that they all had songs that they wanted to show and Mr. Schue decided to just let them instead of running "Don't Stop Believin'" again. It had been so much fun just watching everyone do what they loved. Tina could tell that Mr. Schue was coming up with all kinds of ideas on how to incorporate the separate pieces into a few different numbers. By the time it was over, she was exhausted and just wanted to go home and start her homework.

Tina walked out of the school with Mercedes and started towards her house.

"Hey, Tina! Want a ride?" Artie called from the curb. His mom just pulled up in their van.

"N-No. Thanks, Artie!" she called back and took off before he could protest. She truly liked Artie, but not like he liked her. Walking in the chilly night was a better option than having to sit through Artie's lame but endearing pick up lines. She zipped up her hoodie and shoved her hands in the pockets in search of her iPod so she can lose herself in her music. Usually, Mike would drive her home but he was finally hanging out with Brittany and she didn't want to intrude. He had been into her since 8th grade.

Tina liked her music loud, no matter what it was. Right now, Katy Perry's "Thinking of You" was blasting. It was starting to turn cold and she purposely stepped on leaves to feel the crunch under her feet.

A few blocks away from school, Tina heard a horn honk behind her. She whirled around, ripping the earbuds from her ear.

"Tina! You shouldn't be walking alone this late at night. Get in." It was Puck. He had stopped right by her and rolled down the passenger side window.

Tina stood there for a minute, considering her options. True, it was pretty late and she didn't live in the best part of town. But a car ride with Puck. She had no idea what could happen with that. But she got in the car and buckled her seat belt anyway.

"Why didn't Mike drive you home?" he asked as he put the car in gear.

"He's h-h-hanging out with Britt."

"Thank God! If I had to listen to him talk about her eyes one more time I was going put him out of his misery."

Tina surprised them both by laughing. "H-He has been o-obsessed with her for a long time, h-hasn't he?"

"That's putting it nicely." He stopped at a light. "You did really good today, Tina."

"Thanks. Mr. Schuester l-liked it. And I-I didn't stutter."

"He's right, you know. The more confident you are, the less you stutter."

"I kn-know. But I can't g-g-go singing through life."

"Why not? Rachel does. Just think of it as a metaphor or simile or something." She laughed again. Puck realized that as beautiful as her singing voice was, her laugh was even better. The light changed and Puck hit the gas.

Suddenly, everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Once again, until I am locked in a room with Puck, Finn and Will with a can of whipped cream and a stereo that only plays Marvin Gaye, I own nothing related to GLEE.

Tina woke up aching all over. She tried to open her eyes but the light was blindingly bright so she shut them and groaned.

"Tina, baby? Are you okay?" she heard her dad say somewhere nearby. She could hear someone crying and hushed voices.

"C-Could you turn that light off?" she asked quietly. Her voice was hoarse. Through through the membrane of her eyelids she could tell that someone had switched off the light and she tried to open her eyes again. It didn't hurt as much. She saw an IV bag hanging in her peripheral.

"How do you feel?," he dad asked. He was seating close to her, her mother was next to him. She had been the one crying. Her tear stained face shined in the soft light and her breathing was still ragged.

"Like I w-was hit by a mack truck." She heard someone chuckle on the other side of her. Tina slowly turned her head and saw Mike leaning against the wall and his parents sitting in chairs in front of him. "Shut it, Mike."

Her aunt and uncle laughed. "I think she's okay," her uncle said.

She could hear her mother's breathing relax. "What happened?"

"You and Noah Puckerman were hit by a drunk driver. He's all right, a little shaken and bruised but you took the brunt of the hit, Tina. The other driver died in surgery last night." Her dad's voice was calm but careful.

Tina sat up slowly. It was then that she noticed both of her legs in casts that started at her crotch and went all the way down.

"Oh. My. God." She couldn't not look at her legs. She didn't have time for this. Not with sectionals and regionals coming up.

"You have to be in the casts for at least two months and they had to put pins in your knees and femurs to hold them together," he paused before continuing. "You'll have to do Physical Therapy three times a week while you are in the casts and four times once they come off. And you got a pretty nasty cut on your forehead that they had to stitch closed."

Tina laid back down and stared at the ceiling. She heard the knock on the door and a doctor came in. He asked her inane questions that would have been answered robotically if she hadn't stuttered over every word. After almost an hour, he told her family that visiting hour were almost over and that they should let her get her rest. Her parents asked when she could come home and were told that she would be released from the hospital in a week.

Her parents and aunt and uncle kissed her cheek and left. Mike stayed a minute.

"I'm glad you're okay, T." She had nothing to say. "I'll talk to everyone at Glee and Mr. Schuester. See what he wants to do." She nodded silently. He squeezed her hand and she squeezed back, hoping that it reassured him.

Once she heard the door close, she broke down sobbing. Puck wasn't there to know if she was okay. He must not have cared.

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Puck woke up suddenly. He was in his bed, in his house but his mind was somewhere else. He threw on a set of clothes, grabbed his backpack and sprinted out of his room and out the front door before his mom could even say 'Good Morning.' Last night had been hard for her, he knew, but he needed to see Tina. Needed to know that she was going to be okay.

He ran down the block to the bus stop and waited. He did a mental check of himself. He was achy, but nothing worse than the day after a hard football practice. His head hurt and he knew that he had a small gash just above his right eyebrow. He didn't even need stitches for it.

He remembered the crash and afterward. He had just put pressure on the gas pedal when the force of a SUV stopped his beat up Honda. When the screech of metal on metal and the sound of breaking glass finally stopped after what felt like hours but was only a couple of seconds, he saw her. Tina was unconscious and bleeding. Her side of the car was completely mangled and looked like it was a part of the car that had hit them. Puck got out of the car as fast as he could and tried to get to Tina through her door but he could even see where it once was. He saw an ambulance and fire truck speeding towards them and it was then that he realized that he was crying. They stopped and while the firemen were using the Jaws of Life to get to Tina and the other driver, an EMT forced him to sit down so she could check if he really was all right. Two more ambulances arrived but he refused to be taken away until Tina was out of his car. He was furious when he realized that the other driver, the son of a bitch who had hit them, had to be moved first before Tina because her legs were pinned.

When they finally got her out, he insisted on riding in the same ambulance as her to the hospital. He heard the EMTs say that her vitals were strong but she had lost a lot of blood. Her legs had been crushed and the cut on her forehead would need stitches. They got to the hospital and he was forced to leave her because they were cutting off her clothes and a doctor needed to patch him up. His mom showed up around the same time that Tina's family did. He and Mike said nothing but they hugged. His mom hugged him tighter than she ever had before and insisted on getting him home. Mike told him to go, that he would text him when Tina woke up to let him know how she was.

Puck snapped back to reality when the bus stopped in front of him. He got on, paid and sat in a seat near the door. He couldn't get the image of Tina with blood running down her beautiful face out of his head. It didn't matter that Mike told him that she was all right, both legs broken but all right or that the drunk driver had died in surgery. None of it mattered until he saw for himself that Tina was okay.

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Tina didn't fall asleep until her doctor gave her enough morphine to knock out an elephant. She dreamed weird, drug induced, Yellow Submarine dreams about Glee and her friends and Puck. Puck. So many strange dreams about Puck.

When she woke up, a nurse was hanging a new IV bag and humming softly to herself.

"Good morning! How are you feeling?" she asked brightly. Tina groaned in response and the nurse chuckled. "Do you want breakfast?"

"M-Maybe." The nurse adjusted the bed so she was sitting up and handed her the remote to adjust it and the TV remote.

"I'll go get it so if you get hungry, it's here. The button here," she pointed to a beige circle on the bed frame, "is to page someone if you need anything."

"Th-thank you." The nurse left and Tina switched on the TV. She channel surfed until she came to an old 'Gilligan's Island' episode. She had a secret obsession with old TV shows.

"This is one of my favorite episode's." She looked at the door and there stood Puck. He set his backpack down on a small table and took the seat nearest her. "How are you feeling?"

"I-I'm okay." He took one of her hands in his. Her breath hitched. "H-How are you?"

"Sore, but I'm in good shape." He looked at her hand with the IV in it. "How badly are you hurt?"

"B-Both my knees and f-f-femurs have pins in them. I'll have to be the c-casts for a while and I'll need ph-ph-physical therapy." Tears started to well up in her eyes. "I won't be able to do Glee."

It was the first sentence Puck had ever heard her say without stuttering but it was the most heartbreaking thing in the world. "Maybe Mr. Schue can work you in like he does with Artie." He knew he was grasping at straws.

"M-My knees can't b-b-b-bend like h-his. They're st-stuck like this until the casts c-come off." Her tears slid down her cheek and she squeezed his hand tightly.

"Hey, it'll be okay," he said as he slid next to her on the bed. He wrapped his arms around her and rocked her gently, not speaking, just letting her get it all out.

Tina cried for almost an hour before she began to calm down. If it had been anyone else, Puck would have left after only a minute but this was Tina. He was so happy to have her in his arms that he barely noticed the snot and tears on his t-shirt.

"Oh, God, y-your shirt is all w-w-wet and gross. I'm s-s-sorry, Puck," she sniffled when she finally stopped crying.

"It's not a big deal." He kept his arm around her shoulder, his fingers crinkling the papery fabric of her hospital gown.

"B-But you have to g-g-g-go to school--"

"I'm only going for Glee. My mom called Figgins and Mr. Schue last night and cleared it with them. I wanted to make sure you were doing all right. It--You seemed more important." There was an awkward silence. A nurse stuck her head in and gave Puck a reproving look. He nodded begrudgingly and got off the bed. "You should eat." He went to the tray of hospital food and grimaced at the sight of it. "You want me to make a breakfast run for you?"

"No, i-it's okay--"

"I don't mind. I need coffee anyway. What do you want from Starbucks?" He stood at the foot of her bed and looked at her black toe nail polish that was scuffed from the accident.

"V-Venti mocha f-f-f-f-f-frappuccino and c-coffee cake."

"Venti mocha frappuccino and coffee cake, it is. I'll be back in ten minutes. There's a Starbucks on the first floor." He turned and walked out the door.

"P-Puck!" Tina called after him. He stopped and came back to the door way with his eyebrows raised.

"Yeah?"

Tina spoke slowly, determined to say this without stuttering. "Thank. You. For. Coming. Back."

He walked towards her, placed his hand on her cheek and kissed her on her forehead. "Wild horses couldn't keep me away from you."

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Puck walked out of Tina's room mentally beating himself up. He should have just kissed her instead of using such a cheesy line.

He went down to Starbucks, got a black coffee and cookie for himself and frappuccino and coffee cake for Tina. He headed towards the elevator to go up to Tina's room when someone almost ran into him.

"Noah, how is she?" It was Mr. Schuester. He was standing with his wife, who looked incredibly irritated that he was speaking to someone other than her.

"She's going to be okay, Mr. Schue. She won't be able to do Glee, but I think she'll be fine." The elevator door opened and they got in. Mr. Schuester asked him the floor number and pressed the button for him.

"Should I come by after our appointment to say, "Hi"?" Mr. Schue asked. His wife sighed irritably.

"Honey, remember, I wanted to go shopping for a crib?"

Mr. Schuester rubbed his temples. "I have to go back to school, Terri. We still have five months to get a crib. I just want to check on a student that was in a very bad car accident last night after she was under my supervision."

Puck had never heard Mr. Schuester be so short with anyone, not even Rachel. Mrs. Schuester crossed her arms and faced the door, tapping her toe impatiently.

"I think that it might be better to come by after rehearsal. Tina's still processing everything and she hasn't even eaten yet."

"All right. Well, tell her that I'm glad she's okay and that we'll all miss her in Glee. Take care of our girl." The elevator stopped on Puck's floor.

"I will, Mr. Schue. Mrs. Schuester, congratulations on the baby. Mr. Schue is going to be a great dad." He toasted them with his coffee cup, making Mr. Schue laugh but his wife had a look of panic in her face. Weird. He shrugged and went to Tina's room.

She looked a little more bright eyed than she had when he had left her and she smiled broadly at him.

"Th-th-thanks, Puck." She accepted the drink and coffee cake from him and began to eat. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until she had seen something appetizing.

"No problem. I ran into Mr. Schue and the Mrs. She is a trip."

"Th-that's w-what I've heard." She had already inhaled the coffee cake and was downing the frappuccino.

The nurse from before came back. "Honey, your mom called. Your mom and dad couldn't get out of work but she's bringing you a bag of things she thought you might want while you're here."

"Th-th-thanks."

"Can I get you anything? Do you need any pain meds?"

"N-N-N-Not right now."

"Okay, well, if you do, just page me." She left before Tina could respond.

Tina and Puck were still watching Gilligan's Island (apparently, it was a marathon) when her mom came by. They spoke in Cantonese so quickly that Puck's head started to hurt.

"Mom, this is Noah Puckerman," Tina said in English. It was clear that she had asked who he was.

"Oh, you're the boy that was driving her home." Puck expected her to start yelling at him.

"Ma'am, I'm so sorry about what happened. I would never--"

"It's not your fault, Noah. You weren't the one that was drunk." She patted his arm. "I have to go, but keep an eye on our girl."

"I will."

Tina's mom handed him a duffel bag and went to kiss her daughter goodbye. They spoke in Cantonese again and she left, smiling at Puck as she shut the door behind her.

"Well, let's see what your mom packed for you." He set the bag beside Tina and unzipped it. "Clothes, pajamas, underwear," he said and he felt a blush creep up his cheeks. As much as he wanted to see Tina's underwear, it wasn't like this. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that she was blushing, too. "Your laptop, a set of headphones, some DVDs. A bottle of nail polish, books. She does know you aren't going to be here for a year, right?"

Tina laughed and Puck felt his stomach tighten at the tinkling sound. "Sh-She doesn't want m-me to get b-b-b-bored."

"First things first." Puck picked up the the bottle of nail polish from the bag before he set it on a chair and unscrewed the top. He had a glint in his eye as he sat at her feet and painted her toenails black.

Tina stared at the ceiling. What was going on in her life?


	3. Chapter 3

I would like to reiterate that if I owned GLEE, it would be on every night for 4 hours at a time with 10 songs and Will, Finn and Puck would not be allowed to wear shirts. But I don't so it's only on once a week for an hour and they are often fully clothed. Damn.

Also, I'm apparently psychic. What happened tonight on GLEE was almost VERBATIM what I wrote in Chapter 1 but with Rachel. I was in shock when it happened.

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Puck could not remember a better day. He and Tina had spent the day talking about anything and everything. Everything but Quinn. He wanted to tell her the truth about Quinn and the baby but he couldn't bring himself to. He wanted things to stay this way. Simple. Easy.

After he had painted her toenails, and he left to room so the nurse could help her go to the bathroom and change into a set of her pajamas, he pulled out a set of markers from the bag her mom had packed for her and set to work decorating her left cast.

"C-Come on, Puck! Do I look like a hearts and f-f-f-flowers k-kind of girl!" She laughed as he doodled on her leg. He was a better artist than she had thought he would be.

"Hey, hearts and flowers are pretty and I only draw them for pretty girls." Tina blushed. "No blushing. Learn to take the compliment."

"Y-You think I'm p-p-pretty?" she shyly asked. Puck sat facing her and took her face in his hands. "Even w-w-with the d-dark make up and goth clothes and the b-b-blue streaks?

"I think you are one of the prettiest girls in school. And I think you know it and it scares you. You just choose to hide against the lockers because you think it would be easier that way. But I'm not going to let you hide from me." He kissed both of her cheeks and the tip of her nose before getting up to return to drawing on her cast.

"Hey!"

"What?" He smirked at her.

"Get. Over. Here," she said very seriously. He went back to sitting beside her.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Y-You can't say things l-like that and just w-walk away." She was pouting a little and it made him laugh.

"What was I supposed to do?"

Tina paused. Did she have the guts to do this? What if he thought she was nuts? She had to take a chance.

"This."

Tina took his face in her hands like he had done to hers and kissed him. She tried to put everything she could into that kiss. Puck ran one hand through her hair and settled the other on her waist. She wanted to climb into his lap and press their bodies together but that would have to wait. She wanted to do so many things in that moment but she couldn't. They would all have to wait.

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At 3 o'clock, Puck left Tina for Glee. She had fallen asleep around lunch and he didn't have the heart to wake her when he left. He gently kissed her forehead again and scribbled a note on a napkin from a second coffee run that he placed on her table.

The bus ride to school was uneventful but he flinched at every SUV he saw. He had a feeling that that would continue for a while. He got off the bus and went straight to the music room.

Everyone was there but there was no joy in the room. Mr. Schuester sat at the piano with his head in his hands. A couple of suitcases and some boxes sat at his feet. Quinn was clutching her growing abdomen, tears streaming down her face. Finn was red with rage. Rachel's usually expressive face was blank. Everyone else was in shock.

"What's going on, you guys?" It wasn't until he spoke that anyone noticed he was there.

"YOU!!!!!"

Before Puck knew what had happened, Finn tackled him. He hit the ground and Finn was punching him, not aiming, just throwing wild punches. Mr. Schue, Mike and Matt pulled Finn off of him as quickly as they could but Finn still got in a few good ones. Puck felt blood running from his nose and his cut from the other night had reopened.

"Oh, God! Matt, Mike, keep Finn from killing him! I'll be right back!" Mr. Schue raced out the door.

"What the hell, man!?" Puck said as he sat in a chair as far from Finn as possible. Rachel ran after him with a box of tissues.

"I told them, Puck." Quinn's voice was very small. Mike and Matt had Finn pinned on the ground even though he was no longer fighting them.

"You did?" he asked quietly. "What happened?"

"Mrs. Schuester isn't pregnant. She never was. Well, she thought she was and then she found out she wasn't and she just kept lying to Mr. Schue because she thought he'd leave her if there wasn't a kid," Kurt said from the back of the room. He and Mercedes were lying on their stomachs decorating a huge poster board.

"What does that have to do with anything?

"I was going to give her the baby." Quinn was still speaking in a hushed voice.

"It all came out during her doctor's appointment today. Apparently, she and her sister blackmailed her OB/GYN into going along with her scheme and the doctor had had enough. He told Mr. Schue everything." Kurt was coloring with a huge pink Sharpie while he spoke. Somehow, even tragic stories were funny when Kurt told them in his gossipy way.

"Mr. Schue went home and packed up most of his stuff. He's going to see a lawyer tomorrow about a divorce. He came here and spilled his guts to us and then Quinn started crying and it all came out," said Matt as he sat on Finn's legs.

"I'm so sorry, Finn, Puck. I should have just told you right away."

"Yeah, you should have, Quinn. You should have been honest instead of making me feel guilty for having feelings for Rachel." Finn wasn't yelling but he was clearly livid with Quinn. "And you, Puck, how could you have sex with my girlfriend? Who does that?" Now he was yelling. "You gave me so much shit about it when it was you all a long! What the hell?!"

"I'm sorry, man."

"That's all you have to say?"

"Right now, yes. We can talk about this later. A lot has happened in the past couple of days. I'm trying to process everything."

"You have feelings for me?" Rachel asked out of nowhere. Everyone groaned and Puck rolled his eyes. The tiny, hot freak and Frankenteen really were perfect for each other.

"Duh!" Mercedes yelled from the back of the room. That cut the tension in the room and everyone, even Quinn, couldn't help but laugh. Mr. Schue reentered the room with Miss Pillsbury, who was carrying a large first aid kit.

"What's so funny?" Mr. Schue asked. To everyone's surprise, he was smiling. Miss Pillsbury was blushing.

"Finn likes Rachel," Kurt said.

"Well, duh!" Mr. Schue said, making them all laugh again. Miss Pillsbury opened the case and set to work cleaning Puck up.

"I guess we're done then," Quinn said to Finn.

"Yeah, I guess we are." Matt and Mike finally let him up. Finn went to Quinn and they hugged each other tightly. "I'm mad at you and I probably will be for a long time but I really hope everything works out for you. And I would have done anything if that were my baby."

"I know." They broke apart and Quinn turned to Puck. "I'm going to look into a legitimate adoption. I still know that I'm not ready for this but I love my-our baby and I want her to have the best of everything. I hope that's what you want."

"It's what I want, too." They looked at each other, knowing that while their situation wasn't ideal but they had at least come to an understanding. He pulled her into a hug. Miss Pillsbury scooted out of the way. "Thanks for the "our.""

"How is Tina doing?" Mr. Schuester asked.

"She's doing pretty well. Her meds knocked her out around noon but I stayed with her until I came here." Miss Pillsbury finished daubing at his forehead and packed up her kit.

"Can we come visit her?" Artie asked.

Puck hesitated. Tina had told him about Artie today and he couldn't believe that he was jealous of him. Part of him wanted to say 'yes', knowing that Tina would be thrilled to see everyone. But another part warned him to wait a couple days before all twelve members of Glee and Mr. Schue were in one tiny room together. Plus, he knew that if everyone was in the room with her, she'd somehow find out about Quinn and he wanted to be the one to break that news.

"Um, not tonight. Mike and Mr. Schue and Miss Pillsbury can stop by but I think we should check with her before we all invade the hospital."

"Well, this has been an eventful rehearsal, guys. Why don't we call it a day?" Mr. Schue said. Puck stared at all his stuff, wondering what was going to happen next.

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Tina woke up alone. She had weird dreams again, about Puck and submarines and unicorns and babies. They made no sense at all.

She shot up in bed, looking around her room for Puck. Her walls had been decorated with handmade posters and cards with so much glitter on them that she knew that Kurt and Mercedes had to be responsible for them. Each one had a long message written on it. On the table that slid over her bed sat a card and a cell phone. Tina opened the card that was decorated with crayon drawings of fire escapes, stars and a stick figure couple that she assumed were dancing.

~Tina,

I went to Glee while you were asleep and expected you to be awake when I got back here. I didn't want to wake you so I hung up the stuff that Kurt and Mercedes made for you and went downstairs. Mike, Mr. Schue and Miss Pillsbury are with me. Call Mr. Schue or Mike when you wake up and we'll be right there.

Slushies,

Puck

P.S. Your mom and dad came by and brought you dinner from home. I have it with me if you want it but you'll have to share. I can't help it, I'm a Jew, Chinese food is our traditional cuisine.

Tina dropped the card on the table and picked up the phone and flipped it open. It was clearly Puck's phone. The background was of a cheerleader doing a split in the air. Tina rolled her eyes and went to the contacts. As she was scrolling down to Mike's number, the phone beeped in her hand. A new text message. She opened it, thinking it might be Mike or Mr. Schue checking if she was awake. It was from Quinn.

'Hey, I hope Tina is doing better. I'm sorry that everyone found out that way. When do you want to talk about the baby?'

Tina stared at the phone. Huh? It beeped again and she opened it.

'I looked up stuff about adoption agencies in the area and we have a decent number of options. Open, closed, anything really.'

'It's a girl, btw.'

She clicked out of the message and went to the contact list and punched the button for Mike with all her might.

"Sup, Cuz?" Mike said when he answered.

"I'm up," she said shortly.

"Cool, we'll be right there."

"Just Puck." There was a moment of silence on the other end.

"Why?" Mike asked.

"Quinn texted him." She had a feeling that everyone knew but her. She felt a lump rise in her throat. "I read it."

"Oh, shit!"

Tina heard talking in the background and the scraping of chairs. She hung up the phone and went back to the text messages from Quinn. It could not have been anymore clear. Puck had gotten Quinn pregnant. Noah Puckerman was the father of Quinn Fabray's daughter. She stared at the phone. She had been staring at a lot of things lately.

The door opened and Tina threw the phone Naomi Campbell style at it. It smashed into a million little pieces right above Puck's head.

"Tina, I'm so sorry I didn't tell--"

"Get out." Her voice was hard as nails. Her eyes met his. If looks could kill.

Mr. Schue, Mike and Miss Pillsbury were behind Puck at the door. Miss Pillsbury had the classic deer-caught-in-the-headlights look while Mr. Schuester looked like he was about to jump in to moderate this. Mike just looked sad.

"Please, give me a second to explain!" He crouched by her side and grabbed her hand which she jerked out of his grasp.

"You had all day to explain. You had every opportunity to explain. Clearly, nothing needs to be explained. Quinn's pregnant. She's giving it up. Everyone found out today that it's yours. And I'm just the pathetic Gleek that thought you might actually have real feelings for me other than the urge to throw a slushie in my face."

"Tina, you didn't stutter once." Puck seized her hand again and she didn't pull away.

"I know. But that doesn't change the facts." She took her hand away from his and turned her attention to the TV. 'Wheel of Fortune' was on.

"Tina, you can't just walk away from this. Today was one of the best days of my life! Yes, I got Quinn pregnant. Yes, I should have told you and I'm sorry I didn't. But this is real. My feelings for you are real. Your feelings for me are real. Can't that be enough?" He touched her cheek.

She looked him right in the eye and said, "No."

Puck lowered his hand from her face. He could only think of one left to do. He could feel her slipping away from him. He had to do something.

He kissed her.

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	4. Chapter 4

Wow. Over a thousand hits already!!!! I'm pleasantly surprised, guys! I didn't think anyone would be interested in a TinaXPuck fic but I'm glad I was wrong! Keep those reviews coming!

Oh, yeah. I don't own GLEE. If I did, "Sweet Caroline" would be number 1 on iTunes, not "Party in the"... Oh, wait. "Fireflies" is number 1 right now? Damn.... I really love that song... Well, then I guess I'll go with the standard "Not mine until Puck, Finn and Will are shirtless singing love songs to me while I lounge on a bed of rose petals and money."

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He kissed her and she kissed him back.

Puck wrapped his arms around her torso and pulled her towards him slightly. He wanted to envelop her entire body with his but he knew he couldn't right now. There were so many things he wanted to say to her but somehow, it was all said in that kiss. Desperation, hunger, sex, love, fear, ecstasy, desire, the need to be close to her. All the things that Noah Puckerman had never allowed himself to feel for a girl he felt for this Gothic Asian that he had thrown slushies on for the past two years. And for what? To see the look of humiliation in her eyes? To feel his football buddies pat him on the back. None of it was worth it. None of it.

When they finally broke apart (which they only did because Mr. Schue had cleared his throat several times), Tina collapsed against the bed and hid her face with her hands.

"Tina, what's the matter?" Puck asked. He really didn't know how she felt at the moment.

"Can you please just give me a couple days to process this? I need some time." She leaned forward, her elbows supporting the weight of her head. "I don't know what to think or feel about anything. Please, just go. I'm sorry about your phone."

Puck felt Mike put his arm around his shoulder and lead him out of the room.

"She's hates me." Puck collapsed into a chair outside Tina's door.

"She doesn't hate you. She doesn't hate anyone."

"I don't know."

"Trust me. If Tina hated you, you would know it. She wouldn't have let you kiss her like that. Speaking of which, as her cousin, I am obligated to say that she can do better than you." Mike chuckled and nudged Puck, trying to get him to laugh along.

"I don't think you know how right you are." Puck stood up and left the hospital.

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Will Schuester watched the girl in front of him. Tina had collapsed. Completely, emotionally and physically collapsed in front of him. But he was proud of her.

Proud because she had not stuttered at all while she told off Noah Puckerman. She was confident about how she felt about the situation, about him and about herself. Even if she didn't know how she felt, at least she knew that. Most other girls would be sobbing in a corner right now. But not Tina. She seemed almost catatonic.

"Will? Can you give us a minute?" Emma asked. He nodded and joined Mike in the hall. Puck was gone.

Emma sat beside Tina's bed and said nothing. She waited for Tina to start talking. Part of what made her a good guidance counselor was her ability to get people to open up. She knew that with Tina, all she would have to do was sit there and wait.

"I wouldn't have cared two days ago. I mean, I would have cared, but I would have been worried about Finn and felt bad that the baby would have Puck for a father. But now, I care about what this is going to do not only to him, but me. How did I get involved in all this? When did I start looking at him differently?"

"My guess is when he drew little rainbows and hearts and quite a fearsome unicorn on your left leg." Emma gestured to the drawings on Tina's cast. They really were quite good. That boy was just full of surprises. "Why didn't he do anything on the right one?"

"So people could sign it without ruining his artwork." Tina sat up and laid her head against her pillow. "He didn't finish, though. He just did the outlines. He was going to color it in tonight and tomorrow."

Emma smiled. "It would be a shame to not let him complete his masterpiece."

"Yes. It would be."

"Tina, I understand why you are upset with him. Anyone would be. In fact, if you weren't, I'd be concerned. But Noah, clearly, feel terrible about this. He was going to tell you tonight, Quinn just beat him to it. And she had no way of knowing that he had left his phone with you. Nothing was done out of malice. If it were, do you think he would have brought Mr. Schuester and my self with him? Or your cousin, for that matter?"

"What am I supposed to do?" Tina asked. She couldn't bare to look at Miss Pillsbury.

"I think you should give yourself a few days to cool off, like you asked him for. You have every right to be mad. But think about how Noah has been with you today. Think about how he gave you a ride when he didn't have to. Think about how you haven't stuttered once since learning this new information. Think about the good he has done and see if it out weighs the bad."

Tina finally looked at the red haired guidance counselor. She knew she was right.

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The next day was Saturday and Tina's parents spent the entire day with her but all she wanted was time to collect her thoughts. When they finally left, after hovering over her all day, she opened her laptop and began to write a list of all the bad things Puck had done to her over the years. It was over eight pages long. She created a new column to list the good things he had done. It was incredibly short by comparison but as she read the lists over, she came to a conclusion. She needed to talk to Quinn and get the whole story.

Her cellphone had been pulverized in the accident so her mom had picked up a new iPhone for her last night when she had gotten off work. She had wanted one for a while and her parents said that it was an early birthday present. She had no contacts other than her parents, aunt and uncle and Mike in her list but she knew a number by heart that was her Golden Ticket to what she wanted. Kurt's.

She punched in the numbers quickly and waited for the boy soprano and all his fabulousness to pick up.

"You've reached Kurt Hummel. May I ask who's speaking, please?" Kurt said in an aloof way.

"Kurt, you queen, it's Tina."

"Tina! How are you? How's the food? Remember, hospital food is full of empty calories and high fructose corn syrup so eat as little of it as possible. Get people to smuggle in real food for you and don't even dream abo--"

"I'll be fine after physical therapy," she interjected. If she didn't, he would never shut up. "I need a favor."

"Honey, I am not bringing you any eyeliner or eye shadow. It is a crime to hide behind it like you do. Especially with your eyes."

"Focus, Liza. I need Quinn Fabray's phone number."

"I have it, but it will cost you." She could practically here Kurt smirking on the other end.

"Fine, you can have my homecoming dress from last year. You looked better in it, anyway."

"Thank you, but my tastes have matured beyond acetate and rayon. So should yours, by the way. No, I want more valuable currency."

"You know I don't have any money."

"No, what I want is the scoop. What is going on with you, Tina Cohen-Chang, and Noah Puckerman? The whole school wants to know that more than how Puck knocked up the Virgin Mary." Tina winced at the mention of the Quinn/Puck situation but she spilled her guts to Kurt. Part of her was grateful to be able to tell someone who knew nothing about the whole situation. Part of her was afraid that Kurt was judging her for letting Puck get close to her.

"That was better than any of the rumors going around school!" Kurt practically squealed. "Ok, I'll give you her number. But you have to promise me that you won't kick her in the stomach or anything."

"Kurt, I can't even get out of bed on my own. I couldn't kick her if I wanted to."

"Just checking." He gave her the number but Tina decided to wait to call it. She wasn't entirely sure what she wanted to ask Quinn.

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Puck spent Saturday in the last place he wanted to be.

Synagogue.

His mom and grandmother insisted that he go with them so he could properly thank God for his safety and the relative safety of Tina.

He sat there, uncomfortable and tired. He was wearing a suit that was too small and a yarmulke that he hadn't worn since his Bar Mitzvah. He didn't want to be there. He really wanted to be at the hospital, outside her door, just to be close to her. Instead he was here. His little sister was easily the youngest person there.

It wasn't that he wasn't grateful for his own well-being. It just didn't matter when Tina was hurt physically and emotionally. He would rather be the one with broken legs than her.

It wasn't until the cantor began to sing that he gave any thought to God. The music. He had forgotten about the music. It had been his favorite part of going to synagogue when he was younger. There was something otherworldly about.

He knew what he needed to do for Tina.

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Quinn smoothed her dress self-consciously. She was still dressed for church. She was nervous about this. She had no idea how this was going to go but she was glad that it was going to happen.

Tina had called her that morning and asked her to come by the hospital. She had been polite but terse, which was better than Quinn was expecting. She tapped lightly on the door before opening it.

"Hi, Tina," she said. She stood a little bit away from her bed.

"Hi, Quinn." Tina looked tired and kind of grubby.

"I'm sorry about those texts I sent. I had no idea you had his phone. I wouldn't have sent them if I had known--"

"That's not what I wanted to talk to you about." Tina was still short with her.

"I know."

They remained silent for a moment. Quinn sat down. The chair squeaked.

"I'm not mad at you." Tina broke the tense quiet.

"I-"

"I'm just trying to figure out what--how this happened."

"It was an accident. I had been drinking but not as much as I tried to convince my self after it was over. Puck was drunker than I was. I didn't even think of using a condom or going to get the morning after pill until it was too late. I couldn't even consider an abortion so when Mrs. Schuester offered to adopt the baby--"

"Wait, what?" Tina was wide-eyed, her mouth hanging open.

"Oh, God. No one told you?" Tina numbly shook her head. Quinn sighed and told her all about Mrs. Schuester's part of her story and how Mr. Schue was leaving her. "Anyway, I'm still going to give the baby up. I talked to my pastor and he introduced me to a couple from our church that has been trying for years to have a baby and it looking to adopt. Puck can be as involved as he wants to be but I'm leaning towards an open adoption. I would get updates every now and then and maybe even see her on occasion, nothing so often that she would be confused about what I am to her, but enough so that I know I made the right decision."

"Do you know what he wants?" Tina spoke softly.

"I know that he wants an adoption, too, but he has said from the beginning that if I decided to keep it, he'd do whatever he needed to do for our daughter, even if I had been able to keep Finn from knowing. He doesn't want to be like his dad." Quinn was getting teary-eyed. "Sorry, hormones," she lied. "He really is a good guy at heart, Tina."

"I know he is."


	5. Chapter 5

Okay, so I normally HATE IT WITH A PASSION when people use song lyrics in fics... but I did it in this chapter. Something from a previous episode has been bugging me and I had to correct it.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Glee. If I did, Harry Shum, Jr. would have more to say than, "I can pop and lock." Seriously. Also, all the male characters would be in loin cloths. But I don't, so Cory Monteith is stuck in boy-frumpy striped sweaters. Damnit.

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Tina went back to school a week later and she hadn't seen Puck since she had ordered him out of her hospital room. It worried her.

Mr. Schue refused to let her quit Glee, he was convinced that he would find some way to make it work with not one, but two member in wheelchairs. He had called a "Welcome Back, Tina" rehearsal even though it was a Monday and they normally rehearsed on Thursdays. The more she thought about it, the more right he was. Life would have been lonely without Glee and she'd be in walking casts by Regionals.

Mike and Matt were racing her and Artie up and down the hall (they kept calling it a 'Cripple Race' until Tina threatened Mike with embarrassing pictures that would be posted online as soon as she got home) while the others were setting up food and decorations in the music room. Artie and Matt were had won the first two races until Mike used Tina's outstretched legs to surpass them.

It really was a celebration of so many things. Tina was back, Mr. Schue had filed paperwork for his divorce the week before and was consciously flirting with Miss Pillsbury, Quinn had met and loved the couple her pastor had mentioned and had decided to give them the baby, Rachel and Finn were together and happy, Mike and Brittany were together and acting like a couple of lovesick middle schoolers. So many good things had happened in only two weeks. But she missed seeing Puck more than anything in the world.

"Mike, how is Puck? He hasn't come to see me, he won't answer my calls and I didn't see him at all today." Tina spoke softly. She didn't want Artie to hear. He had come to see her, they all had, but he had ulterior motives. He wasn't creepy or weird about it. He just said very bluntly that while he liked Puck, he didn't trust him and didn't want to see her get hurt. It had been hard for her to tell him that getting hurt was a possibility but it would be one no matter who she wound up with. Artie disagreed but was nice enough to keep it to himself.

"He's okay. He has been really busy," Mike said. Something in his voice told her that that wasn't the total truth. Mr. Schue opened the door and asked Artie and Matt to come back in and for Mike to count to twenty-five before wheeling Tina in.

"I hate being treated like an invalid," Tina stated.

"Deal with it." Mike winked at her and they both laughed. "Okay, let's go."

He opened the door and all she saw was Puck. He was standing as far from the door as possible but she was drawn to him. Her hands went to the handrims and she wheeled herself out of Mike's grasp and towards him. Familiar music started and she couldn't breathe.

"P-P-P-Puck?"

"Aw, come on. Don't start stuttering on me now!" He grinned that obnoxious, sexy, shit-eating grin at her. She had missed it. "It's a duet, remember?"

Tina nodded, fighting back the tears, and opened her mouth to sing.

_TINA_

_Only you, you're the_

_only thing I'll see_

_forever_

_In my eyes in my_

_words and in_

_everything I do_

_Nothing else but you_

_Ever_

**PUCK**

**And there's nothing**

**for me but Maria**

**Every sight that I see is Maria**

_Tony, Tony_

**Always you, every**

**thought I'll ever know**

**Everywhere I go you'll be**

_**PUCK & TINA**_

_**All the world is**_

_**only you and me**_

_Tonight, tonight_

_It all began tonight_

_I saw you and the_

_world went away_

_Tonight, tonight_

_There's only you tonight_

_What you are, what you_

_do, what you say_

**Today, all day I**

**had the feeling**

**A miracle would happen**

**I know now I was right**

_**For here you are**_

_**And what was just a**_

_**world is a star**_

_**Tonight**_

_**Tonight, tonight**_

_**The world is full of light**_

_**With suns and moons**_

_**all over the place**_

_**Tonight, tonight**_

_**The world is wild and bright**_

_**Going mad**_

_**Shooting sparks into space**_

_**Today, the world was**_

_**just an address**_

_**A place for me to live in**_

_**No better than all right**_

_**But here you are**_

_**And what was just a**_

_**world is a star**_

_**Tonight**_

_**Good night, good night**_

_**Sleep well and when you dream**_

_**Dream of me**_

_**Tonight**_

Puck had twirled her in her chair and danced with her until the end of the song, when he got as close to her as he could. He had one hand on her cheek, the other in her blue-streaked hair. He had missed her hair.

"It's all up to you, Tina. Whatever you want. If you want me, I'm yours, 100%." His thumb caressed her cheek, wiping away a tear that had slipped loose from her eyes. "If you just want to be friends, that's fine, too. But I want to be with you more than anything else.

Tina tentatively raised a shaking hand to his cheek and opened her mouth to speak but she couldn't. She could only nod.

"Yes," she breathed. His lips crashed into hers and she felt him grinning as she allowed him to deepen the kiss.

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"Please don't disappear like that again."

Puck and Tina were lying on her bed. Tina was embarrassed. This was the first time a boy had ever laid in her bed and they could not lie comfortably together because of her casts. Her mom and dad weren't home from work yet and Puck insisted on staying with her until they got home. She tried to argue but decided that it was a good idea since she needed help with everything.

"Don't worry. I won't," he promised as he traced the features on her face with his finger tips. "I don't get it."

"Get what?" she asked. He looked so puzzled as he looked at her that she started to get worried.

"I'll tell you some other time. I'm not even sure what I'm talking about." Guilt laced his voice.

They stared at each other. "You need to finish my cast. It looks like a coloring book waiting to be scribbled in and I'm going to run out of room on my right leg. I swear, Rachel seems to think my cast is an autograph book."

It was true. Her right cast was covered with Rachel Berry's loopy signature and drawn on gold stars. She provided the gold ink.

"All right. I'll get the sharpies and get to work while you read the book for English out loud."

Tina groaned. They didn't have any classes together but they had the same teachers and assignments. One of the lovely things about going to a smallish school.

"I've already read "Pride and Prejudice," like, a fifteen times. I love it, but I'd rather not discuss it with a classroom full of Cheerios. The idiots that don't understand any part of it." She caught her ragged paperback copy that Puck tossed to her and opened up the first page.

"Why have you read it so many times?" Puck was now kneeling at the foot of her bed to start his process of filling in his outlines.

"Because Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are wonderful."

"And?" he pressed.

"And everyone has that kind of person in their life. Someone that gets under their skin and just needles them. They are like Beatrice and Benedick in "Much Ado About Nothing." They love to hate each other and love to argue because no one else is a worthy adversary."

"Yeah, I didn't understand "Much Ado" until Artie said that all Beatrice and Benedick needed was to be locked in a room together. I know a bunch of people like that."

Tina rolled her eyes at the boy at her feet and began to recite, "'It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.'" She read until the end of the Meryton assembly. Her throat was dry. "I think I'm done for the day and we're a chapter ahead."

"You are going to have to read that whole thing to me if Mrs. Wates expects me to pass a test on it." He was only up to her knee with his coloring. "That book is for chicks." She giggled at him. Puck's tongue was poking out the corner of his mouth as he intently colored with markers. "What?"

"You look like a little boy." She grinned at him and Puck realized that he had never seen her smile like that. He put the cap on the marker in his hand and crawled closer to her. He supported his weight on his elbows so he could look her right in the eye.

"You should smile more." He kissed her cheeks. "You are so pretty when you smile." Tina blushed and hid her face with her hands but Puck pulled him off her face. "You are. And if you're going to be my girlfriend, you better get used to hearing it."

"I'm y-y-your girlfriend?" She bolted up and Puck had to move fast so she didn't bonk him on the head.

"I don't normally spend the afternoon coloring a girl's cast while she reads Jane Austen to me. My after school time is usually a little more badass. I'd only do that for some one pretty awesome." Tina blushed again.

"You h-haven't asked me, yet," she teased nervously.

"That's what I meant when I said "I'm yours" and "It's all up to you." I totally did ask you! And you said "Yes"!"

"Puck, I need to know that this won't just be a thing that only happens in Glee and outside of school. I need to know that you are going to be a boyfriend in front of people who may not like it. You saw what happened to Finn and Quinn when everyone found out about the baby. Are you ready to get a slushie in the face for me?"

"Hey, I got one for Berry, so I might as well get one for you, too," he joked. But as soon as the words left his mouth, he knew they were the wrong ones. Tina's eyes which had been soft and warm turned cold as steel. She had clearly forgotten about the disaster that was his one week relationship with Rachel Berry. How he had originally done "Sweet Caroline" for her, not Tina.

"Why do you like me?"

"What?"

"Why do you like me? It makes no sense. One day you are throwing slushies at me and tripping me in the hallway and the next you are giving me presents and driving me home. What changed? How can you go from Santana to Quinn to Rachel to me so fast? And the cougars? How do you explain all of it. And you can't blame the accident because this all started before it happened." Her voice was quiet but clear and full of ice.

Puck didn't know what to say. This girl in front of him was a pro at throwing him for a loop. "I don't know what changed. I went to school, stopped at 7-11 like I always do and I got you a slushie to drink. I know that I always saw you. That if I were in a room with a bunch of people, for some reason I would always see you. You were always there in the back of my brain. Maybe I was torturing you to try to get you out of my brain but it didn't work. You were always there. And I'm sorry that I spent so long fighting it."

"I'm not used to this Puck. I keep expecting to be drenched in cherry flavored goo--"

"I'm never going to do that to you, or anyone, ever again, Tina."

"What about the metaphorical goo?"

"I don't know what you mean."

Tina paused. "How do I know that I won't get hurt by you?"

"You don't. And I have no way to know if you'll hurt me. It's always a possibility, Tina, but if the person is worth the risk, you have to take it. There is no question, you ARE worth the risk for me. Am I worth the risk for you?" Puck was straddling her legs, careful not to rest on her casts, her face cradled in his big hands. His face was desperate, as if he could see everything they would be in her eyes and he wanted it all.

Part of her knew that she couldn't change him and she didn't want to, anyway. She knew he would always be a bit of a jerk but that it was part of his charm. He was a deeply passionate person, who did everything he cared about as well as he possibly could. As she looked in his eyes, she saw a flash of a small face. A little girl. And a wedding. And a graduation. And this moment. And she knew.


End file.
